Kent Craft Beer Festival makes its fourth annual return to downtown

Derek Kreider, Record-Courier
·3 min read
Kent Jaycee member Andrew Madonio stands behind the bar in the Marvin Kent train car that serves as the Jaycee’s meeting place on Franklin Avenue in downtown Kent.
Kent Jaycee member Andrew Madonio stands behind the bar in the Marvin Kent train car that serves as the Jaycee’s meeting place on Franklin Avenue in downtown Kent.

Beer-lovers will have cause for rejoicing on Saturday when downtown Kent will host the fourth annual Kent Craft Beer Festival.

From 3 to 8 p.m., attendees will be able to imbibe the malty, hoppy offerings of 27 of Ohio's craft breweries, including Kent's own North Water Brewing and Bell Tower Brewing Co. The event will be held on North Water Street this year, after having been held on Franklin Avenue in front of Ray's Place last year.

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The event is presented by Ray's Place and organized by the Kent Jaycees.

This year's lineup includes two meaderies — Crafted Artisan Meadery, and Feisty Brood Meadery — and a hard cider operation called Sundog Ciderhouse.

A number of food trucks will also be available, ranging from barbeque to burgers.

A portion of the profits from this year's fest will be donated to Raven Packs, a Ravenna-based charity working to provide food to Ravenna students. Throughout the year, the Jaycees will also be donating money from the event to other charities, though they haven't yet decided on specifics.

Andrew Madonio, member of the Kent Jaycees and one of three co-chairs helping to organize the event, said that Grazer's will have a booth setup outside their location on North Water Street. Daisy Pops will be on-hand as well, selling their homemade cake pops.

The event is free for anyone to walk through, but if those 21 years-old and over wish to sample the beers, they'll need a $30 general admission ticket.

"[The ticket] includes a four-ounce specialty sampling glass, and 10 four-ounce tastes of beer," Madonio said.

There's also a $75 VIP option that includes a sampling glass, 20 four-ounce samples of beer, a $10 food voucher good for any of the food vendors on-site, a T-shirt, and admittance into a VIP area on the Hometown Bank Plaza that will be serving beers unavailable to those with general admission tickets, according to Madonio.

Music will be provided by a DJ from Beach Boyz entertainment.

A number of Kent business have come together to sponsor this year's event.

Ray's Place is the official event sponsor, and Bell Tower Brewing Co. is sponsoring the VIP area.

"We have our logistics sponsor, which is General Transport Trucking," Madonio said. "They help us with a refrigerated truck to keep all the beer cold for the day-of."

Hometown Bank is responsible for providing non-Jaycee volunteers to the event, and the company Madonio works for, Brimfield Insurance, is a financial sponsor.

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The Kent Craft Beer Festival was born out of the Jaycees volunteer efforts helping Main Street Kent with the art and wine festival they put on every June.

While residents are enthusiastic about the wine festival, some beer drinkers felt that there weren't very many options for them, Madonio said. So the Jaycees began the craft beer fest as a way to raise funds for their organization, and as a learning experience for their members.

This year's expansion of the festival to include meaderies and ciderhouses is an invitation to people who might be interested in something other than beer.

But the event is open to anyone, not just those looking for libations.

"We've tried to have a little something for everyone," said Madonio. "We encourage kids, non-beer drinkers, to walk through the festival, grab a bite to eat, and have a good time."

The Marvin Kent train car serves as the Jaycee’s meeting place on Franklin Avenue in downtown Kent.
The Marvin Kent train car serves as the Jaycee’s meeting place on Franklin Avenue in downtown Kent.

Tickets to the Kent Craft Beer Festival presented by Ray's Place can be bought from the Kent Jaycees website: https://kentjaycees.com/kent-craft-beer-festival-2/

Anyone looking to get involved with the Kent Jaycees can read how to do so on their website: https://kentjaycees.com/join/

Contact reporter Derek Kreider at dkreider@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Kent Jaycees organize 4th annual Kent Craft Beer Festival